Operation Nha Trang I

Operation Nha Trang I (10 October 1965) was one of the first battles of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, taking place a month before the major Battle of Ia Drang. General William B. Westmoreland ordered the destruction of Viet Cong forces in the jungles near the US airbase of Nha Trang in southern South Vietnam, and the communist forces were destroyed.

Background
The first United States ground troops of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived in Vietnam in May 1965 to assist the South Vietnamese Army in taking care of the threat posed to them by the Viet Cong insurgency, backed and funded by the North Vietnamese Army. The Americans set up airbases at Pleiku, Qui Nonh, Da Nang, and Nha Trang, among others, and they began to bomb North Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder. At the same time, they began to mount search-and-destroy operations against NVA and Viet Cong troops that were located in South Vietnam.

General William B. Westmoreland, the commander of US forces in South Vietnam, began to coordinate attacks on the Viet Cong between the US Army and SVA, and in October 1965 he ordered a search-and-destroy operation against the Viet Cong in the jungles near the US base of Nha Trang. The operation was named "Nha Trang I", as it was the first of many steps taken against VC troops in the area.

Operation
South Vietnamese troops were sidelined in the battle, as their commanders ordered them to remain on the defensive against any Viet Cong forces. The Americans were thus forced to fight on the front lines, and men of MACV-SOG were ordered to assault Viet Cong forces in the jungle's expanses. The Americans made use of the napalm weapon, dropping barrels that soaked the forest in fire. Many Viet Cong troops were killed and many trees and villages burnt, and the Americans moved in to root out the communist forces. The Americans proceeded to hunt down the Viet Cong across the jungle, and they were aided by a Huey gunship that passed overhead for a minute. The Viet Cong were forced to scatter to avoid being overwhelmed, having suffered 75 losses and killed 37 Americans. The operation was a success, and cleared the way for more US troops to be sent to Vietnam to assist in the struggle.